Iceland review - 2019, Page 11

7
Iceland Review
The Right to Decide
Trans people in Iceland will now be able to
change their gender in the official regis-
try according to their lived experience, as
well as register as neither male nor female,
denoted with an “x” on official documents.
This is one of many legal changes brought
by the Gender Autonomy Act, passed in
Iceland’s parliament in June, which aims to
affirm the rights of trans and intersex peo-
ple in Iceland.
The Gender Autonomy Act has also
brought changes to Iceland’s strict naming
laws: given names will no longer be desig-
nated as “male” or “female” in the Icelandic
naming registry. In addition, individuals
who are officially registered as neither male
nor female can also officially take on the
gender-neutral name ending -bur in lieu of
patro- and matronymics -son or -dóttir.
The National Queer Organisation, Trans
Iceland, and Intersex Iceland released a joint
statement celebrating the new legislation,
but expressed concern that it scrapped a
clause meant to protect intersex children
from “unnecessary and irreversible inter-
ventions to their bodies.”
NEWS IN BRIEF
Swimming Free
Iceland’s gentle giants can swim freely for
a while: there will be no whaling conducted
in Iceland this season. It’s the first summer
in 17 years that the controversial practice is
entirely suspended in the country. The deci-
sion, whaling magnates say, was largely a
commercial one.
Kristján Loftsson, CEO of whaling com-
pany Hvalur hf., announced in early June
that the company would be suspending
operations this summer. Kristján cited late
arrival of the necessary permit and poor
conditions on the Japanese market as the
reasoning behind the decision. Gunnar
Bergmann Jónsson, CEO of IP útgerð,
echoed Kristján’s sentiments. The Marine
and Freshwater Institute also confirmed
that there would be no whaling for research
purposes this year.
Whaling resumed in Iceland in 2003 fol-
lowing a 14-year hiatus. Whales were then
hunted solely for scientific purposes, though
commercial whaling resumed in 2006.
Minister of Fisheries Kristján Þór Júlíusson
issued an authorisation in February which
allows for fin and minke whale hunting to
continue until 2023.
Preparing for Takeoff
Two separate parties are working toward
resurrecting a low-fare airline from the
ruins of recently bankrupted WOW air.
Two former WOW directors are working
toward founding a new airline whose work-
ing name is WAB, which stands for We
Are Back. Meanwhile, a still-anonymous
American investor has purchased WOW’s
former equipment, trademark, and logo.
The unknown buyer is reported to have
decades of experience in airline operation
in the US and elsewhere.
WAB, on the other hand, aims to make
a fresh start. The company plans to be in
business by next fall, operating six air-
planes and flying to 14 destinations in
Europe and the US. Irish Investment fund
Avianta Capital has a 75% share in the
fledgling company, with the remaining
25% in the hands of company Neo, partly
owned by Arnar Már Magnússon, who ran
WOW air’s flight operations, and Sveinn
Ingi Steinþórsson, from WOW air’s eco-
nomic department. The group is currently
in talks with Icelandic banks to secure
loans for the project.
Words by
Jelena Ćirić
Photography by
Golli